Breakup of trade data in January: PBS

February 17, 2026 (MLN): Pakistan's trade deficit narrowed sharply in January 2026, declined 27.69% MoM to $2.76bn, compared to $3.81bn recorded in December 2025, according to provisional data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

On a yearly basis, the trade gap also improved, shrinking 5.52% from $2.92bn recorded in January 2025.

The monthly improvement was driven by a simultaneous rise in exports and a fall in imports. Imports declined 4.41% MoM to $5.81bn in January, down from $6.08bn in December 2025. On a year-on-year basis, imports also edged down 0.95% compared to $5.87bn in January 2025.

Exports posted strong growth, rising 34.74% MoM to $3.06bn in January from $2.27bn in December 2025. On a YoY basis, exports also grew 3.56% compared to $2.95bn in January 2025.

In rupee terms, exports during January 2026 stood at Rs855.53bn, marking a 34.57% increase over December 2025 and a 4.03% rise over January 2025.

Imports, meanwhile, amounted to Rs1.63tr, showing a decrease of 4.53% over December 2025 and a marginal decline of 0.35% over the same month last year.

As a result, the balance of trade in January 2026 stood at (-)Rs774.10bn in rupee terms and (-)$2.76bn in dollar terms.

The top export commodities during the month were readymade garments (Rs121.82bn), knitwear (Rs119.90bn), bed wear (Rs86.38bn), Basmati rice (Rs55.84bn), and rice others (Rs46.62bn), followed by cotton cloth (Rs46.22bn), towels (Rs32.57bn), made-up articles (Rs22.67bn), cotton yarn (Rs20.57bn), and petroleum products (Rs18.82bn).

On the import side, major commodities included petroleum crude (Rs109.68bn), palm oil (Rs102.87bn), petroleum products (Rs85.74bn), plastic materials (Rs76.78bn), and iron & steel (Rs74.94bn), alongside LNG (Rs74.84bn), electrical machinery & apparatus (Rs59.96bn), iron & steel scrap (Rs56.19bn), mobile phones (Rs50.29bn), and motor cars CKD/SKD (Rs45.50bn).

On a cumulative basis, exports during July–January 2025-26 totalled $18.19bn, down 7.11% from $19.58bn in the corresponding period last year. Cumulative imports over the same period rose 9.49% to $40.26bn from $36.77bn.

The cumulative trade deficit for July–January 2025-26 stood at (-)$22.07bn, or (-)Rs6.22tr in rupee terms.

Copyright Mettis Link News